It sounds like the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is taking the four cities it contracts with for a ride! Must be nice to be able to increase the rates that cities pay for through their respective contracts but not really give them the data they’re asking for. This issue first came up as part […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
The Chumash marine sanctuary should fill in the protection gap between the Channel Islands and Monterey
Ten years ago, when the Sierra Club joined with marine sanctuary advocates in advocating for the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, we were all very clear: There is a “doughnut hole” in California’s marine sanctuaries. The Channel Islands sanctuary covers that environmental gem off the Santa Barbara Channel; the Monterey Bay sanctuary reaches down to […]
Posted inOpinion
We’re well along on a better path
Although neither a birder nor an ornithologist, I am a fan of The Canary opinion column in the Santa Maria Sun. It’s snappy and entertaining. But recently it bordered on the bird-brained (Aug. 24, “On the record”). This bird looks and sounds yellow. It ought not to quake and quiver. Refuse to be caged by […]
Posted inOpinion
State, county should stop giving Lompoc more than its fair share of low-income housing
For many years I was a Planning Commissioner, and during several hearings nonprofits or the Santa Barbara County Housing Authority said that Lompoc needed more low-income housing. The state and federal government have been trying to “fix” the affordable housing problem since the early 1960s when they started creating large high-density apartment buildings and crammed […]
Posted inOpinion
The truth of Trump is worse than an incorrect quote
I read with interest Clive Pinder’s letter in Sept. 7 edition of the Sun (“We’re entitled to our opinions, not our own facts”). According to The Hill, CNN.com, Politico, and PBS, Trump’s Truth Social response (Dec. 5, 2022) to losing the 2020 election was to state in all caps: “MASSIVE AND WIDESPREAD FRAUD AND DECEPTION” […]
Posted inOpinion
Live more simply, save the planet
I do not know the author of “The Sea is Boiling,” Sept. 14. I imagine we would get along, as I share the same concerns about climate change. The small actions suggested are all good ideas, as we must all do something to steer us from disaster. But I was struck that the writer has […]
Posted inOpinion
Time’s a wastin’
Apparently, providing emergency services in Santa Barbara County is complicated. I mean, obviously it is. But for some reason I can’t quite grasp, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has made it even more complicated in the last six months. For 50 years, American Medical Response (AMR) has provided emergency medical services to the […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to do something about climate change
When I read “the sea is boiling hot” in Lewis Carroll’s famous poem “The Walrus and The Carpenter,” I imagined a hot tub near the ocean. I never thought it literally would be our ocean or our beloved Maui burning to the ground. I wonder whether Carroll was thinking about climate change when he wrote […]
Posted inOpinion
The quote was an error but the point is the same
After submitting my letter (“An open letter to the secretary of state,” Aug. 31), I discovered that I had included a quote I attributed to Donald Trump that was in error. My bad, “to err is human.” Subsequently, this error was pointed out to me, first by the editor, and again by Mr. Clive Pinder […]
Posted inOpinion
Boycotts work, and we can boycott Big Carrot
If you are outraged by the Carrot Kingpins, Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms, seeking to hog water rights at the expense of Cuyama residents and their school, then boycott all their products. We can buy fresh and delicious carrots at our local farmers’ markets. Remember that the late Cesar Chavez organized the Wrath of Grapes […]
Posted inOpinion
Doing what’s right
After all else failed, Santa Barbara County stepped up for Guadalupe in a way that moved 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino to tears for the resilient community he represents and the board on which he serves. “Today you were public servants,” Lavagnino told fellow supervisors after they unanimously voted on Sept. 12 to allocate $8 […]
Posted inOpinion
Politicians and activists who ignore reality wreak havoc on us all
From the Founding Fathers who became political leaders until today, politicians have misled and/or outright lied about so many issues that it’s hard to keep up. For centuries they have promised better days if only we would vote for them; we are still waiting. And activists—they just make noise. To prove they care about us, […]
